Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Tony Rosenthal’s iconic Alamo sculpture, this year’s festival draws on five decades of progressive, social and cultural change. During this time Astor Place and the East Village have been a nexuses of spontaneous urban rituals, community gatherings, creative flash mobs, yarn-bombs and mischievousness, with each of these influences and themes reflected throughout the festival.

In addition to the two performing stages of FREE dance, music, poetry and cabaret the festival will also feature FREE participatory workshops for visitors of all ages, including mini Alamo cube craft and collage workshops, as well as puppet making and beat box making presented by La MaMa E.T.C. The neighborhood’s narrative of the past 50 years is rich and eclectic; festivalgoers will have the opportunity to share anonymously their own East Village narratives and stories from the past 50 years with the Strangers Project, adding to a collection of over 30,000 stories collected across America, many of which will be on display.

The Astor Alive! Festival takes place on the northern and southern plazas of Astor Place with sections of Fourth Avenue and Cooper Square closed to traffic, making way for workshops, activities and pop-up public space.

Between now and the festival, visit the Astor Alive! Facebook page for weekly announcements of performers, programming and festival updates.